Tekken 4

Tekken 4 Description

The king of the iron fist tournament finally returns, this time accompanied by slightly less hype and misleading propaganda. The concept originally announced before the PS2's release, which soon turned into Tekken Tag Tournament, now seems to have come to fruition, as Tekken 4 boasts all the features which originally created the buzz at the advent of the PS2. Foremost among these is the fact that fights now take place in fully realised 3D environments, giving more of a sense of freedom of movement. Locations range from an underground fight club, to a perilous rooftop, and an airport. The actual location of each bout has a much greater effect on the proceedings. Players can interact with and take advantage of background objects, and scenery itself can be used offensively - stunning opponents against a wall, for example. Also, hitting some walls and areas of scenery can bring it all crashing down around the skirmish. As far as gameplay mechanics are concerned, the game still very much remains in the realm of its predecessors, albeit with the adoption of its cousin Soul Calibur's eight-way movement. This allows players to battle on more than just one plane, moving up and down, and circling opponents. More than 20 characters feature in the game, including several that fans of previous chapters will recognise - such as Jin and Heihachi. Like most Tekken titles, number four comes complete with its own selection of new characters, such the beautiful Christie Monteiro and the powerful wrestler Craig Marduk. All of them, of course, have their own fighting styles according to their martial arts expertise, along with their own range of special moves and combos.

Key features

Theatre in the round
For the first time, Tekken 4 now offers fully three-dimensional environments in which to act out your scenes of pummeling. No longer do you fight in a single plane, inching from side to side across the screen.

You can now more easily circle your opponent, keeping your distance or closing in as the situation dictates, dodging from side to side to avoid their blows and set up your own opportunities to catch them with their guard down. You have a freedom of movement never before seen in a fighting game.

Interactive backgrounds
The location in which you fight - ranging from rooftops and shopping centers, to underground fight clubs and vast airport runways - also provides innovative new levels of interactivity with undulations and differences in terrain and height.

Get someone trapped against a wall, for example, and any blows you land will slam them back against it; they'll feel both the effects of your blow and the wall itself, slumping to the floor for you to attack them further. Hit a wall hard enough and you might even set it crumbling about your ears - or even better, the ears of your opponent.

You can also use the surroundings to manoeuvre opponents until they're trapped in a corner. While, if you're cornered yourself, a new combination of grabs and moves might just let you quickly switch places with them - all of which innovative features give you a real sense of fighting in a truly 3-dimensional environment.

New characters, new moves
There are 23 playable characters in all, including newcomers Craig Marduk, Steve Fox, Christie Monteiro. All of them have their own range of moves and combos to be learnt and unleashed on your unsuspecting opponents.